Clarinet Choir

4 Clts and Bass Clt Learn More

Eb, 4 Bb, Bass and Eb CB Learn More

"Brom Bones" for clarinet choir (1 Eb, 3 Bb, 2 Eb Alto, 2 Bb Bass, and 1 Bb Contrabass) musically depicts the character and exploits of Washington Irving’s dashing prankster in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The work is in 5 movements: Following the energetic and heroic "Overture", in "The Smoke Out" tone clusters represent the buildup of smoke in Ichabod’s singing school. Chorale-like passages suggest the music of the singers in training. The movement ends in transition, as Brom Bones and his small band of pranksters gallop off to their next adventure. The third movement, "The Schoolhouse Caper," combines very aggressive and topsy-turvy passages with humorous, plodding interjections. "Ichabod’s Romance" begins as an enchanting unaccompanied ballad, which is abruptly disturbed by a cacophony of raucous clarinets, suggesting the whining of Brom’s mocking dog. Reverent hymn-like sections serve as the backdrop to heartfelt solo passages, which are again disturbed by Brom’s annoying dog. The movement ends as it began, with the beautiful bass clarinet solo. The intense final movement, "Night Encounter," depicts Ichabod’s frightening and fateful run-in with the Headless Horseman, suspected by some to be Brom Bones in disguise. Learn More

"CITYSCAPES for clarinet choir (Eb clarinet, 3 Bb clarinets, bass clarinet (or Bb clarinet 4), and contra alto clarinet (or bass clarinet 2) was commissioned by the Chattanooga Clarinet Choir to be performed at ClarinetFest 2014, this picturesque 5-movement composition was inspired by typical city scenes: ""Morning Traffic"", ""Riverfront"", ""A Walk in the Park"", ""Skyline at Sunset"", and ""Night Life""." Learn More

E-flat Clarinet, 3 B-flat Clarinets, 2 Bass Clarinets and Contrabass Clarinet

From the composer:

Claremont Suite was composed for the 2011 Claremont Clarinet Festival, where I was Composer-in-Residence, and premiered by the festival’s clarinet choir. The content of the work is somewhat unusual in that each of the three movements is an arrangement of a composition I had written previously for other ensembles. Though these pieces were not originally intended to be performed together, I thought that they would make a nice little suite arranged for clarinet choir. The first movement is an arrangement of a wind octet I wrote earlier in 2011 (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns), which was composed as a companion piece to Mozart’s C minor Wind Serenade. I sought in this work to combine the clarity, resonance, and sense of drama that characterizes Mozart’s “Serenade” with my own expanded harmonic palette and driving rhythms. Movements 2 and 3 are arrangements of tunes I originally wrote for a band that I used to play in called Zoyres. The word “zoyres” comes from a Yiddish word meaning “fermented vegetables,” and the idea of the band was to take traditional tunes from Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and “ferment” them in the culture of the San Francisco Bay Area to create tasty hybrids of folk, klezmer, rock, jazz and avant-garde improvisation. It was challenging but also a lot of fun to take these tunes, both of which have very free, improvisatory sections, and arrange them into fully notated music for clarinet choir. The resulting three-movement suite takes full advantage of the vast range of colors and characters that the clarinet choir can produce, ranging from the thick chords of the opening to the jazz and klezmer riffs of the second movement, to the driving dance rhythms and virtuosic runs of the final movement.

Learn More

Composed in 1918, this dixieland jazz standard comes to life for Clarinet Ensemble (4 Clarinets and Bass Clarinet). Learn More

E-Flat Clarinet, 3 Clarinets, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Contralto Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet

Commissioned by the Central Oklahoma Clarinet Choir, Jennifer Rucker, Director Learn More

The spirited march titled "Country Gardens" has arranged for Clarinet Ensemble (4 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet). This piece is fun for the players, the audience and is sure to bring a smile to everyone's face. Learn More

9 Clarinets and 2 Bass Clarinets

ELEVEN was written for the San Francisco Conservatory clarinet studio as a companion piece to Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint (both are scored for 9 Bb and 2 bass clarinets). I am a great admirer of Reich’s intricately interlocking patterns, jazzy harmonic palette, and rhythmic vitality, but I am less patient than he is. I want the patterns to change more rapidly, I want more dramatic shifts, and I tend to prefer more narrative forms. In ELEVEN, I use very Reich-ish materials, but treat them in a freer, more narrative, more whimsical manner than he would. This piece is both an homage to a composer I greatly admire, and a declaration of independence from the strict processes and careful control that characterize his music.

–Jonathan Russell

Learn More

Beethoven goes "Boogie" Woogie" in this very entertaining arrangement of "Fur Elise" for Clarinet Ensemble; 3 Clarinets, Alto Clarinet and Contra Alto Clarinet Learn More

Eb, 4 Bb, Bass and Eb CB Learn More

3 Bb Clts, Alto Clt, Bass Clt, Eb Contra Alto, Bb Contrabass Learn More

2 E-flat Clarinets, 4 B-flat Clarinets, Alto Clarinet, 2 Bass Clarinets and ContraAlto Clarinet

In 1902, Percy Grainger wrote the first of his 5 settings of “Irish Tune from County Derry,” scoring it for 2 female voices, 4 male voices and piano (for practice only) and labeling it “British Folk-Music Settings Nr. 5.” It was first published Schott & Co., 1912. The untitled tune had been collected by Miss Jane Ross, of New Town, Limavady Co., Derry (Ireland) and first printed in “The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland” (Dublin, 1855) on page 57, which is headed: “Name unknown.”

This scoring for clarinet choir takes advantage of the large, close, and evenly spaced range of the members of the clarinet family, allowing most of the notes to remain in the clarinet’s chalumeau register for a rich, warm sound.

–Maurice Saylor

Learn More

3 Bb Clts, Eb Alto Clt, Bb Bass Clt and Eb CB Learn More

For Clarinet Ensemble (3 Clarinets, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet), this version of "Jingle Bells" is a short and straight forward version of the Christmas classic. Learn More

8 Bass Clarinets and 2 Contrabass Clarinets

The Kaleidoscopic Pocket Hockets Boogaloo takes its title from Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” and its inspiration from the literary genre described as “Hysterical Realism.” Hysterical realism, also called recherche postmodernism, is a term coined in 2000 by the English critic James Wood to describe a literary genre typified by a strong contrast between elaborately absurd prose, plotting, or characterization and careful, detailed investigations of real specific social phenomena. He used the term to denote the contemporary conception of the “big, ambitious novel” that pursues “vitality at all costs” and consequently “knows a thousand things but does not know a single human being.” He decried the genre as an attempt to “turn fiction into social theory,” and an attempt to tell us “how the world works rather than how somebody felt about something.” The Kaleidoscopic Pocket Hockets Boogaloo uses elaborate and extravagant virtuosity from its performers and their instruments, incorporates styles ranging from Adams-like minimalism to Taj Mahal funk, and cites motives and progressions from works as diverse as “Grazin’ in the Grass,” “The Horse,” and Stravinsky’s “Ebony Concerto.” But it does not know a single human being.

- Arthur Gottschalk

Learn More

E-flat Clarinet, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet and Contralto Clarinet

From the composer:

Love Like Windnoise is loosely inspired by select Morton Feldman compositions, featuring minimalistic and repetitive tendencies. The title is a literary reference to a novel that deals with seeking silence, wholeness, and the nature of truth, especially as it is applied to relationships. The piece is designed to alternate between silence and tension, using dissonance and polyrhythm to create that juxtaposition. It’s structure is based on a circadian progression–starting at dawn, then growing warmer and more active, then finally returning to nighttime, except now bearing the feeling of fulfillment and internal peace.

Learn More

6 Bb Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Contralto Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet

Micah Ahern lived 7 courageous, hard-fought years with Neuroblastoma, a deadly form of cancer that attacks children. I had the privilege of knowing sweet little Micah where he was a student at Ditto Elementary School in Arlington Texas, where I am the school librarian.

He lost his battle July 28, 2016; he spent every day living his life to the fullest and was especially fond of baseball. Micah become an honorary member of the Texas Christian University (TCU) baseball team the last 3 years of his life, and even attended one of their playoff games in the College World Series shortly before he died. Micah's zest for life had a tremendous positive effect on everyone that he knew. He is loved and missed by many.

100% of the proceeds of this work will be donated to the Superhero Micah Foundation and additional donations can be made here:

https://superheromicah.wordpress.com

Learn More

4 Bb Clts, Eb Alto, Eb CB and 2 Bass Clts Learn More

Eb, 4 Bb, Eb Alto, 2 Bass and Eb CB Learn More